Saint Marie
Saint Marie (French: Saint-Marie) is a British Overseas Territory, an island in the Caribbean.Real life location Its main town is Honoré. Geography In his book Walks of the Caribbean, Volume 2, the travel writer Albert Peter Dunn ''describes Saint Marie as ''one tenth the size of its northwest neighbour Guadeloupe, one eighth of the size of Dominica, one sixth of the size of Saint Lucia, one fifth the size of Martinique, and a third of the size of Barbados. Saint Marie is of volcanic origin. Its main volcano is the dormant Mount Esmee. There are several other mountains, among them Mont Clair. Nearby islands are Guadeloupe, Antigua, Saint Lucia, Pigeon Island, Martinique, Dominica, Barbados, Montserrat, Sebastian Island, Spinner's Rock, Saint-Robert, Isla Jonas, Saint-Helene, Saint-Michel. Climate Saint Marie is located in the Hurricane Alley and has been hit or near-hit by hurricanes several times (e.g. hurricane Francis, hurricane Irma). However, the sun shines 300 days a year, 10 hours a day. Temperatures regularly reach about 100 °F (38 °C) or even more. There is a Meteorology Unit of the Teisserenc Meteorology Department of the University of Guadeloupe including five weather stations to the north, east, south, west and centre of the island, respectively. History Saint Marie was colonised by the French in 1554. The French lost it to the British, who lost it to the Dutch. The Dutch lost it back to the French. The French then handed it back to the British in the mid-seventies. : See also: Timeline Language English is the official language, but because 30 percent of the population is French, French is widely spoken. Towns * Honoré * Port Royal * Chapel Town * Port Louis * San Boullestre Government The head of state is the British monarch, represented by a Governor, who is appointed for a period of 4 years. The Governor resides in a house located outside Honoré called Government House. The island government is lead by a Mayor, who is elected. Ruling members of the island government (e.g. Trade and Commerce) are called Ministers. They have their offices in a building called Hôtel de Ville (French; literal translation: town hall) located in Honoré. Members of the public administration (e.g. the Police Commissioner) have their offices in a building called Government House (not to be confused with the Governor's residence) located in Honoré. Economy Saint Marie's economy is mainly based on tourism as well as on sugar and rum production. There is a large number of hotels and holiday villas on Saint Marie. The majority of tourists seem to be wealthy. There are diving schools, surf schools and a lot of other touristic activities, e.g. treasure hunting, bird watching, team building tours, and about 100 public beaches. Mineral resources * Palladium was found in caves in the rainforest. * Oil is presumed off the coast. * Emerald was found on Spinner's Rock, a nearby uninhabited island. National parks * Saint Marie Marine Reserve * Saint Vincent National Park Religion Catholicism, Protestantism and Voodoo are the most common religions. : See also: List of Priests Notable Saint Marie born characters * Dwayne Myers (born 1964, police officer) * Camille Bordey (born 1982, police officer) * Fidel Best (police officer) * Florence Cassell (born 1989, police officer) * JP Hooper (born 1993, police officer) See also * List of Locations Notes Category:Locations on Saint Marie